Witchy Woman
by LolaCherryColaGirl
Summary: Nellie Potter is James Potters one year older, free spirited sister. She has a boyfriend, but what happens when during her 7th year Sirius Black grows interested with her? Should little details come in the way of love when Voldemort is gaining power also?
1. Witchy Head Girl

-1**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter.

**A/N: **Hello all. Well, more marauder fun from me. The song 'Witchy Woman' by The Eagles inspires my character, Nellie Potter, so there might be some of the lyrics in the story. Anyways, I hope you enjoy the first chapter and will drop a review with some thoughts at the end.

**Summary: **Nellie Potter is James Potter's big sister. She is a free, promiscuous soul and during her seventh year, Sirius Black grows interested in her, even though she is older and has a boyfriend.

**Witchy Woman**

_**The Witchy Head girl**_

Nellie Potter stood in her small room in the attic of the Potter Mansion, sunlight poured in through the small, round window, glinting of the large old-fashioned full-length mirror as she studied her reflection. Of course, there were better rooms in the mansion, but Nellie enjoyed the privacy she the attic gave her.

'_I look like a nine year old boy.'_ She sighed gloomily, frowning at her own reflection, her mind dwelling on her lack of feminine curves.She put on a tight, grey t-shirt and brushed her wavy, raven black locks out of her face before turning to look at her profile. Spotting the_ few _changes that had occurred over the summer she smiled slightly before mentally scoffing, '_Great, I look like a nine year old girl, then,'_ as someone knocked of the door.

Her younger brother, James Potter, stuck his grinning head in her room, his messy black hair sticking up awkwardly. "Nell!" he exclaimed loudly, her nickname has always been used more than her real name, as he found her out of bed, "You're up."

"Great observation!" Nellie remarked sarcastically before patting his head as if he were a toddler. "I'm also ready for breakfast," she finished smiling at him.

On their way down the stairs toward the kitchen, they discussed their plans for the day. "So, basically, Sirius is coming over as always. Pete and Remus, too, if they can make it, and we're just gunna go swimming." James informed her before asking, "You?"

"I'm meeting Roxy; she's back from Spain by the way, and Abbey in Diagon Alley later to catch up. If we get our Hogwarts letters today you should come too and get your books and things." Nellie suggested and James nodded, reluctantly. _School shopping, how dull. _"And it'll give us a chance to drool over the new Nimbus 1500." Nellie winked at him as she jumped from the third step from the bottom onto the kitchen floor. James grinned, "Now you're talking!" and then he jumped, too. When he landed on the kitchen floor, he fought to keep his balance but ended up bumping into Nellie as he stumbled. She playfully pushed him in return and soon they ended up in a small fight; shoving each other until someone fell over.

Luckily, Marianne Potter interrupted them before someone bruised their bum. "Aren't you two too old to be fighting?" She had hand on her hip in a pretense of reprimanding them, but a smile tugged at her lips as she watched her two children shake their heads, innocently, as an answer. It pleased her that they, despite their age, were still children.

"Well, then, you're not too old to pancakes for breakfast either." She laughed as Nellie and James squealed in delight and raced each other to the kitchen table.

"James, is Sirius coming over, again?" Marianne questioned her son who nodded, swallowing a large mouthful of pancake. She shook her head, murmuring, "That poor boy." but did not add anything else, though both Nellie and James knew she was thinking about Sirius' family and his sever dislike for them. She sighed, "Well, kids, dad's already off to work. There was an emergency and the Ministry was in need of an Auror. I'll be going too, as soon as I've changed." Marianne kissed Nellie on top of her head quickly before leaving to change into her Healer uniform.

After her mothers departure Nellie dropped her fork and looked to James. "What do you think the emergency is?" she asked before her pondering aloud, "There's been quite a lot lately hasn't there?"

"I don't know, but yes, there has now that you mention it. You don't think it is something dangerous do you? Since mum has to go to the hospital, as well?" James tried and failed to hide his concern.

At that moment, he looked so much like a little boy to Nellie she parted her ruby red lips and faked a cheery smile to eliminate any worries he might have had. "Of course not, they're just low on staff because everybody is on vacation over the summer." James smiled again and a real smile appeared on Nellie's face as she saw a flash of the man he would be within only a few years.

0o0

Nellie checked her watch to see how long she had been lying on the sun bed, tanning, as the four Marauders swam in the pool, splashing and screaming loudly. She had performed a spell on herself to prevent her from being sunburned, but it would wear off at some point. She had just lied back deciding that five more minutes would not hurt when ice-cold water splattered across her bare stomach. She opened her eyes wide to find James grinning at her, which earned him an angry glare.

"James Potter I am going to KILL you!" She screamed as she lunged off the sun bed and ran towards him.

"You'll have to catch me first!" he screamed back, running for his life as Remus and Peter cheered from the pool. Nellie gave up her chase and strolled over to Sirius, knowing she would never catch James, grabbed his arm and whispered lowly, "Sirius, you'd better help me push him in or I'll tell everyone about the pink boxers I found last time you spent the night here." Sirius cringed at the threat and nodded. He could still feel the warmth of her hand on his arm as he pushed James, screaming about betrayal, into the water.

Sirius sat down on the edge of the pool, letting his feet dangle in the water, as his eyes drifted to Nellie. He smiled faintly as he watched her towel her wet body dry.

He'd never thought of her as anything other than James' big sister before now, but as she stood there in her tiny, dark blue bikini, still dripping wet as she attempted to rub herself dry, his thoughts were definitely not about her being anybodies sister, much less his best friend's. He sighed in confusion; they were not even close. When they all hung out, he talked more to her friend Roxanne than her. His thoughts halted as she walked toward the house again, his grey eyes following her swaying hips, but he did not get to enjoy the sight for long as James shoved him into the pool, intent on settling the score. At least that is what James claimed he was doing.

0o0

Nellie walked into the kitchen and was surprised to see her mum standing in the kitchen making lunch. "What are you doing home, mum? I thought you had work." Nellie said as she kissed her mother's cheek.

"I do; I'm just taking a lunch break. Have you been swimming with the boys?" Marianne smiled. Nellie nodded and felt her worried thoughts from that morning fade away. Whatever emergency there had been earlier, it could not have been too bad if her mum had time to come home and make lunch. "Is dad coming home for lunch, too?" she asked her. She didn't get an answer right away instead she was told to set the table. Her mother smiled a little sadly, as she answered, "No, he's in Manchester. Will you go get the boys?"

"Sure." Nellie strolled over to the door leading to the backyard. "Kiiids!" she yelled grinningly. "Lunch!"

Marianne shook her head. "You know they hate it when you call them kids." Nellie nodded and gave her mum a mischievous wink.

"I hate it when you call us kids." James huffed as he entered the kitchen, dripping water on the kitchen floor.

0o0

"Thanks for lunch Mrs. Potter." Remus placed his cutlery on the plate and made a polite gesture to clear his plate away, but Marianne shook her hand at him.

"You're welcome, and I'll handle this," she took the plate from him. As she washed the plates, she saw five owls approach the mansion out the window, each of them carrying a letter. "I think you're Hogwarts letters are arriving."

Remus got up from his chair and walked closer to the window. James and Sirius settled for winking at each other, remembering the fun it had been to use their two-way mirrors during the exams. Peter just paled, dreading the arrival of his O.W.L results.

The owls were let inside and letters were opened with shaking fingers. James broke out into a wide grin. Sirius shrugged carelessly, tossing his letter on the table. Remus pale, green eyes scanned his scores frantically before giving a relieved sigh. Peter turned green and quickly folded his letter back up and shoved it into his pocket. Nellie stared blankly at her letter, confusion and surprise flashing in her light-blue eyes.

"YES!" James jumped happily around the kitchen screaming like the lunatic Nellie and Sirius sometimes believed him to be.

Marianne grabbed his O.W.L results and quickly looked over them. "James this is so great, I'm proud of you!" she pulled her son into a violent hug, squeezing him so tightly he could barely breathe, but if she hadn't gripped him that way he would have escaped her hug much too soon.

"Who cares? I'm Quidditch captain!" he yelled and more congratulating ensued.

"Well done, mate. Knew you had it in you." Sirius patted his best friends back encouragingly. He turned nervously to Nellie who had been silent all the time. "What's up, Nell? You're quiet." A smile appeared on her face and Sirius was comforted, but now curious. "Come on. What is it?" he prodded.

"I've been made Head Girl!" she explained excitedly, her smile growing ever wider.

Remus blew his brown hair out of his eyes so he could gauge Nellie's expression, knowing she had to be lying. Peter's jaw dropped, making his cheeks appear a little less pudgy and his dismissal O.W.L scores fled his mind. James opened and closed his mouth a few times before finally gaining enough wits to enquire "What?" with wide eyes. "_You_ have been made Head Girl?" This did not make sense to James; his sister had been caught making out in several broom cupboards and in the astronomy tower, by McGonagall even! Moreover, if she was not careful she would have as many detentions as James and Sirius, who were racing to see who could the most before graduation. James often found himself itching to beat up every one of the guys he had seen of heard about her snogging, but his fear of Nellie's wrath had made him keep his hands and wand to himself. Especially after he and Sirius, who James had asked for help, woke up one morning after beating up one of her guys with nasty blue-green boils covering their usually handsome faces.

"My little Nell, Head Girl!" Mrs. Potter exclaimed, clapping her hands excitedly, she was well aware how much trouble her only daughter had been in so this was a very pleasant surprise. She rushed over and pulled her daughter into a hug much similar to the one James had received. "Why aren't you boys more thrilled for Nell?"

"Because," Nell smiled a wickedly smile at them after she had caught her breath. "They're just nervous I'll bust them for all of their pranks now."

"You wouldn't!" Sirius said outraged before James even had time to think it.

"Oh, yes, I would." Nellie said in a singsong voice. "Unless, of course, you kids are very, very nice to me." She knew she was pushing it and that this would probably end with her signing various show tunes their first day at school, but teasing them was just too much fun.

After Nellie's teasing, or as James thought of it, torturing, had come to a stop Marianne suggested that they all flooed to Diagon Alley with her. They did as soon as they were all dressed. She left them to get back to St. Mungos after making sure both James and Nellie had enough money to buy their school supplies and a gift for making Quidditch Captain and Head Girl.

They began their shopping at Flourish and Blotts and collected all the books they would need for the coming school year; Remus even got one he didn't need, which confused Sirius, James and especially Peter. They had only just stepped outside, their bags laden with heavy texts, when they saw him, Severus Snape, a greasy, little git according to the Marauders. Nellie did not know that much about him, since he was not in her year, but she knew the Marauders did not like him. Unfortunately, their paths crossed and Nellie saw the mischievous glances that were passed between the Marauders, so, to avoid confrontation, she whispered for them to 'play nice'.

"Ah, it's the blood traitors. I knew I smelled something revolting." Snape hissed at the four boys, as he tried to push his way past them. He was hung upside down before he had the chance get past, his greasy, black hair falling like a curtain in front of his eyes. The black robe he was wearing over his pants and shirt, despite the summer sun, fell soon after to cover his upper-body and face.

"Black! Potter! PUT ME DOWN!" he screamed in anger and humiliation, shoving his robes up and revealing his normally pale cheeks inflamed to a bright red.

The boys chuckled. "Sorry ole chap, it's not us," Sirius informed Snape laughingly. Sirius and James eyes darted to Nellie who was good at nonverbal magic. Snape attempted to sneer at her, but just made him look constipated.

"Don't ever talk my brother or my friends like that again, Snape!" She glared at him before smiling and adding in a tone that reminded Sirius of a kindergarten teacher, "Now, I think, I'll leave you hanging here so you can think about what you've done."

Laughing loudly, the marauders made their way toward the next store. They had only made it a few feet before Sirius stopped barely containing his chuckles and announced boisterously, "All hail our new witchy Head Girl," giving Nellie a mock bow and the others soon followed, mimicking him. Nellie smirked coolly, forcing the flattered blush from her cheeks.

**A/N: **So this chapter is kind of short, and the next one will be introducing Roxanne/Roxy and Abigail/Abbey and hopefully give you all a better idea of Nellie's personality. It'll be kind of short too, but from chapter three the story should really pick up though. I hope you all enjoyed this and that you'll please review. Reading the lyrics for 'Witchy Woman' might give you an image of Nellie and my story, lol.

X X X LolaCherryColaGirl.


	2. Witchy Friends And Sleepovers

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter.

**A/N: **Thanks for reviewing, please enjoy this chapter and review again. Also a huge thanks to my awesome beta totallymindless.

_Witchy Friends and Sleepovers._

Nellie left four eager boys, almost drooling, at Zonko's Joke Shop in Diagon Alley to make her way up the crowded street to meet her friends at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor. Her newly tanned legs clearly visible as she was wearing a dark-blue, mini, velour skirt that buttoned up the front. Her white platform sandals made her legs seem even longer and they matched her sleeveless white shirt.

She made more than a few guys turn their heads to look at her, but for once Nellie did not notice since she had an actual boyfriend. Not just her usual 'friends, but a little bit more' guys, no this guy she actually referred to as her boyfriend. She had even described him as 'special' to Roxanne before she went to Spain. They had been together for little more than a month now.

"He is sort of special." She thought with a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth as she pushed the door to the ice cream parlor open and stepped inside the small, busy room. She spotted her friend Abigail Leigh at a table near the window and smiled brightly at her. "Hey sunshine, how have you been?" Nellie hugged the blue-eyed girl as much as it was possible when she was sitting.

"Nell! I've been great, and you?" Abbey answered and blew away a lock of brown hair that kept falling into her big eyes. Her hair was straight and fell all the way down to her waist like a curtain she could hide behind. She was a skinny, shy girl and she had only just made friends with Roxanne and Nellie, who had been friends since their first year, during their sixth year, while they were working on a project together. The two girls had helped her to open up a bit, but she was still the quiet type who enjoyed reading, drawing and watching her friends face the world with a confidence she sometimes wished she had.

"Not too bad, I've just been home with James and the guys most of the summer. He's been made Quidditch captain." Nellie added while waving a hand in the air so she could place her order.

"He deserves it." Abbey nodded and took a bite of her vanilla ice cream.

"He most definitely does, but don't tell him I told you that." Nellie grinned and wondered if she should tell Abbey she was the new Head Girl or if she should wait until Roxy was there. A server finally noticed the hand she had been waving and came over to take her order, freeing Nellie of having to make the decision.

While she waited for her strawberry and banana ice cream to come, Nellie told Abbey about her and the Marauders encounter with Snape earlier. Her friend laughed, but shuddered a little; Snape was a Slytherin and it was common knowledge that most Slytherins hated muggleborns, which Abbey just happened to be.

Abbey looked at her watch. "Late as always," she remarked with a grin, speaking of Roxy, of course, who was never on time for anything.

Nellie laughed, "I would be surprised if she actually came on time."

The two girls continued to talk about their summers. Abbey, who lived with her grandpa, spent most of their summer at their home in the country. Nellie would have been bored out of her mind, but Abbey had enjoyed it and described some of the paintings she had done while she was there.

0o0

They heard their third friend before they saw her as a loud Led Zeppelin quote sounded through out the café. "Does anybody remember laughter?" followed by Roxanne Westerly appearing, grinningly, at their table.

"It's so good to see you two!" she exclaimed, as she tried to shrug off her green, army jacket, place it over the back of a free chair and put her bag down next to it all in one movement. Once she succeeded, she pulled Nellie into a hug and gave her a wet kiss on each cheek, which was her usual greeting when she had not seen her friends in exceptionally long time. She moved over to Abbey who blinked surprised at the gesture; she had never been away from Roxy exceptionally long time.

Roxy sat down on her chair and quickly rushed a hand through her short, red curls while her deep, brown eyes sparkled with amusement "Nell dearest?" her lips, painted bright red as always, were beginning to form a smirk worthy of the Marauders. "Why was Snape hanging upside down when I passed him on the street?"

Nellie and Abbey began to laugh. "I suspect Mr. Potter and Mr. Black had something to do with it and possibly Mr. Lupin and Mr. Pettigrew, as well?" Roxy mimicked the tone Professor McGonagall always used when speaking to the Marauders perfectly before she started laughing too.

"Actually it was me," Nellie admitted and Roxy laughed even harder, attempting to voice how much she loved Nell through her chuckles.

As their laughter began to fade a little Abbey bit her nail uneasily and said, "But… maybe we should get him down."

Her eyes nervously darted from Roxy to Nellie, until Roxy said, "Merlin, I've missed you Abbey!" She poked the girl lovingly. "And don't worry I saw Lucius Malfoy get him down before I walked in here."

A server came down and Roxy ordered. "So tell me about your summers!" she exclaimed encouragingly, but before neither Nellie nor Abbey had time to speak, she was rambling on about her own month spent in South-Spain tanning and flirting. Her hands were gesturing wildly as she spoke and she almost knocked over the server when she came with her ice-cream (chocolate, of course).

"… And I'm telling you José is so - oh my God!" she interrupted her speech and jumped up from her chair, almost knocking it over. "I can't believe I've forgotten to show you this!" she pulled her ripped jeans down a little and revealed a small, black tattoo on her hipbone that said _'Roxy' _in small, loopy writing.

"Isn't it cool?" Roxy exclaimed and almost everyone in the room turned their heads to look at the source of the commotion. Roxy glowed; she loved attention!

Abbey's answer was a speechless nod, while Nellie almost yelled, "Yes! And I hate that your parents let you get one when mine won't." She eyed the tattoo with envy once more and thought of the star tattoo she had wanted on her wrist for a year.

"Oh, you know my daddy, if I bat my eyes enough he'll give me anything I want." Roxy slipped back into her seat as Nellie nodded with agreement. Roxy had her father wrapped around her little finger, except on one matter; Roxy was a pureblood and her father wanted her to marry another pureblood, luckily for Roxy a kind, pureblood wizard, not someone who supported Dark Arts or Lord Voldemort. Roxy had told him that Sirius Black and James Potter were the only ones who fit that description and she was not about to marry either one of them. It led to quite a few spats between the two and so they usually avoided the conversation at all costs.

Just as the last bit of ice cream was devoured, the Marauders entered Floreans' café, loudly and burdened down with the weight of their Zonko's Joke Shop purchases.

James dropped some of his bags in Nellie's lap and she protested in annoyance, but he merely shrugged his shoulders, grabbed a chair and sat down next to her.

Remus squeezed in between Nellie and Abbey. Abbey and Remus both being the studiers of their group of friends, found conversation easily.

Peter looked puzzled about where to sit for a moment until he simply decided for the chair closest to him. It happened to be on Abbey's other side.

Sirius immediately headed for a chair next to Roxy who threw her arms around his neck in a joyful hug shrieking, "Sirius!"

"Roxy, dear." Sirius greeted her. He noticed her grey t-shirt that said 'Bad Company', her latest obsession, and sarcastically joked, "Finally got our hints, did you?" Sirius smirked while pointing at the t-shirt.

Roxy swatted his arm playfully, but could not keep a smile breaking out across her face, she knew he didn't think she was bad company. Nellie watched them closely and pondered over the special bond there was between her friend and the younger boy for a little while.

Laughter faded as the group began to push their chairs back away from the table, and collect their belongings upon James' suggestion to 'head home'.

Once they were outside on the now, less crowded Diagon Alley, the Marauders immediately began to walk toward the Leaky Cauldron, but Nellie crossed the street instead and stopped to gaze longingly at the new Nimbus 1500 that was displayed along with some boys a few years younger than she was. She did not fly just to play Quidditch, though she did enjoy the game very much and was quite a skilled chaser, she flew because it gave her an indescribable feeling of freedom.

Roxy and Abbey appeared on her right and Roxy asked, "So Nell, are you gonna try out for the Quidditch Team this year?"

She thought she knew what her friend would answer, so she was quite shocked when Nellie answered, "No, I think I'll be too busy this year." Nellie paused for a dramatic affect, eager to see her friend expressions as she told them her news. "Since I'm the new Head Girl!"

They both squealed in excitement, causing the Marauders to give them curious glances, as Abbey slid an arm around Nellie's waist and pulled her close so Nellie rested her head on her shoulder. Roxy embraced them both in a huge hug, her brown eyes shining with happiness.

Abbey was happy too, but she was a little disappointed that it wasn't she who had been made Head Girl. She then remembered that the mere thought of having to give someone detention scared her, so she knew she would not be the best for the job. She gave her friend a congratulating squeeze.

Once Abbey and Roxy finally managed to tear Nellie away from the Quidditch display window, the girls joined the Marauders and all of them were now heading to the Leaky Cauldron so they could Floo home.

A group of wizards all caught up in a hushed conversation slowed their pace and Nellie glared annoyed at them until she and James recognized their father amongst the group.

"Dad!" Nellie exclaimed merrily as she pushed her way, a little rudely, through the crowd of men that mumbled about her bad behavior until she reached her dad and engulfed him in a hug.

Harrison James Potter looked surprised to meet his children and their friends the late, sunny afternoon and his movements were a bit delayed as he hugged his daughter in greeting before saying hello to everyone else.

"Mom, said you were in Manchester today?" Nellie enquired; surprised that he was back already. She tilted her head to the side and watched her father, as he seemed to search for words.

"Manchester? Oh, yes, dear, I just got back. Right now, actually. To Appararate is a wonderful thing, isn't it?" he chuckled and ruffled her and James' hair. They did not notice that the other men had departed without so much as a goodbye.

Noticing that her father looked a bit weary, and eager to share her news, Nellie decided to try to cheer him up. "I made Head Girl!" she yelled quickly, but James had the same idea and ended up yelling, "I'm Quidditch captain!" at the same time. They glared at each other for ruining the other's moment until their father roared with laughter and placed an arm around both of his children. "I'm so happy and proud of you both!"

"I have to go home now." Peter squeaked, interrupting the moment. Sirius rolled his eyes at him, and Peter lowered his head. Remus patted the chubby boys shoulder and elbowed Sirius, who simply rolled his eyes, again.

"Oh, okay, aren't any of you staying for dinner?" Mr. Potter asked the group. Sirius immediately jumped at the offer; thanking Mr. Potter, who gave the black-haired boy, an understanding and kind smile. Remus and Peter both declined. Mr. Potter turned to the girls, "Are any of you girls staying for dinner? You can spend the night too if you want, I'm sure Marianne won't mind." Hidden in that, invitation was that Sirius could also spend the night if he did not feel like going home, which he did not.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Potter, I have to go home to my grandpa." Abbey excused herself, but Roxy was as eager as could be. "I'd love to Mr. Harrison. Nell, can I borrow some clothes from you?" Nellie nodded while Mr. Potter chuckled at the spirited girl. She'd begun to call him 'Mr. Harrison' when he'd asked her to just call him Harrison instead of Mr. Potter, but she said it felt weird.

"Well." Mr. Potter rubbed his hands together. "Nell, Roxy, and I can help you boys Apparate home." Nellie and Roxy smirked at James at Sirius, enjoying they were too young to Apparate and in need of their help. James and Sirius were bitter that they were in need of two girls to help them.

Mr. Potter turned and continued, "And I presume you three will be Flooing home? Or will you Apparate Abbey?" he turned to face the girl who shook her head no. She had passed her test, but she did not like to Apparate so she Flooed, if she had the chance.

The Marauders agreed to meet soon for some Quidditch as they said goodbye before Peter and Remus began to make their way to the Leaky Cauldron. Remus made sure to linger a little so Abbey could catch up with them after having said goodbye to Roxy and Nellie.

The sun and the presence of her friends made Nellie extremely giddy and happy as she threw her arms around James' neck, kissed him on the cheek and Apparated them both safely home to their back garden where she had had him pushed in the pool only hours earlier.

Roxy appeared a few seconds later with her arms around Sirius' waist who grabbed her hands and twirled her around in a short dance. Finally, Mr. Potter arrived and he laughed heartedly at Roxy and Sirius, who he almost considered his children seeing as they would both stayed at the Potter Mansion so often.

Mrs. Potter came out through the door that lead to the kitchen and gave her husband a brief hug and a quick peck on the lips before hugging Roxy, welcoming her back from Spain.

"I invited them to stay for dinner and spent the night." Mr. Potter told his wife, smiling a little sheepishly, but as he had expected she smiled and said, "Great." Mrs. Potter had always wanted a bunch of children, but after James had been born, it was clear to her and Mr. Potter that with their careers and two children there would not be time for more.

Once inside the house Mr. Potter made a move to hang up his robes in the hallway but their house elf Rose took it from him. "No, no master Potter. Rose do that. Don't make Rose without work." She said in her squeaky voice, mumbling something where only "Mrs. Potter" was audible.

The house elf walked back into the kitchen and Mr. Potter shot his wife a questioning look. She chuckled in response. "I made lunch myself today," she explained causing Mr. Potter to chuckle too.

"Dinner's ready!" Rose squeaked from the kitchen. Mrs. Potter could hear the kids running to the dinning room from various rooms in the mansion and her husband gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before heading into the dinning room as well.

She sighed contentedly, relieved that her husband was home and safe.

0o0

"I am never eating again!" Roxy exclaimed after dinner while clutching her stomach as she dramatically fell on Nellie's bed, landing on her back.

"Didn't you say that after we had ice cream?" Nellie smirked.

"Hush now." Roxy laughed as she sat up and looked around the room. It hadn't changed much since the last time she had been there. Nellie's collection of muggle records, half of them bought because Roxy had recommended them, had grown. The posters on the walls remained the same, mostly of Elvis Presley and John Travolta (both of the girls adored the movie Grease) and of course the one poster that Roxy always tried to make Nellie give her at each birthday and Christmas; a red, muggle, pro birth control poster that said "Make love, not babies." in bold, white letters.

Roxy and Nellie had decided last year that they were feminists and therefore Elvis Presley and John Travolta were the only males still hanging on Nellie's walls. There really was no reason to get rid of all guys, toying with them was much more feministic in their opinion.

Roxy took of her ripped jeans and threw them on Nellie's red armchair, her t-shirt soon following, before she strutted across the room, completely at ease with herself, looking for some clothes in Nellie's closet.

Nellie envied Roxy her curvy body. Even in ripped jeans and too big band t-shirts she just oozed femininity. Nellie shyly removed her t-shirt and quickly pulled on the loose one she used to sleep in.

They crept under the purple covers and Nellie blew out the three candles on her table by the bed.

"So are you still with the fossil?" Roxy giggled in the dark and Nellie smacked her with a pillow, but could not fight back a smile.

"Yeah… And don't call him that, he's not a fossil!"

Nellie's boyfriend was two years older than they were, hence the nickname, "the fossil." She had met him at a party at the ministry for the Aurors where her and her mom escorted her dad earlier that summer. He was in Auror training.

"Can I be your maid of honor at your wedding?" Roxy giggled again, earning her another smack with the pillow.

"Shut up, we've only been seeing each other for a month." Nellie felt sleep tug at her eyes and she closed them.

"Oh, you know, Nell", Roxy faked a sigh. "There's no need to wait when it's true love!" Roxy placed her hands over her heart. Nellie was too tired to smack her a third time, so she mumbled "shut up," as she snuggled closer to Roxy who played with a lock of Nellie's black hair until both of them were sleeping contently.

**A/N: **Like? Hate? Please review to let me know! Will try to update soon, but I'm sick and have exams soon so… who am I kidding, I'll still have time to write, who cares about such a petty thing as exams? Review and get cyber cookies, yay!

X X X LolaCherryColaGirl


	3. Witchy Thunderstorms

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter, but I can claim the lovely Nellie as my very own.

**Dedication: **This is a (delayed) birthday present for my dear Duckling! Love you!

**A/N: **Once again thanks for the reviews, and please keep them coming! I'm SO sorry it's taken me so long to update, my exams kept me busy and then I got sick, and now my step-dad's in the hospital, but I'll try my best to update more frequently.

_Witchy Thunderstorms_

Nellie woke up to the soft sound of rain against her window. With the depressing weather in mind she closed, her eyes shut again and pulled her covers tighter around her body. After several minutes, she dared to let her right leg slip out of bed. She shivered as her foot made contact with the floor.

When she finally managed to get out of bed, she hurriedly skipped across the hall and into her small bathroom. She shivered from the cold, again, as she discarded her clothes, tossing them thoughtlessly into a pile on the floor. Climbing into the shower, she sighed contentedly as the warm water cascaded across her shoulders.

After the shower as she walked down the wooden stairs and into the kitchen, she was drying her damp hair with her wand, the tip lightly touching her hair. She loved that she was seventeen and could now do magic outside of school.

A flash of color in the dining room caught her attention as she strolled into the kitchen. Tilting her head to the side, she peered into the dining to find it covered in white, yellow, and pink roses. Confusedly, she wondered why until it hit her: today was her parent's 20th anniversary. They were having a big party that night to celebrate.

"Good morning." She happily greeted everyone in the dining room.

"Good morning, dear." Mrs. Potter replied, not moving her loving gaze from her husband.

"Very good," he said, staring into the eyes of his wife. James groaned and rested his head on the table. Nellie smacked his shoulder on her way to her seat, muttering "James," and rolling her eyes.

"What?" he raised his head defiantly and glared at his sister as she congratulated their parents. When she continued to ignore him, he threw a bit of egg at her. She was about to get back at him with a piece of bacon, but Mr. Potter said "children" warningly. She slumped back in her seat, settling for sticking her tongue out at James instead.

Their parents chuckled at them, until Mr. Potter pulled two presents up from beneath his chair and gave them to his wife. They were both brightly colored square boxes the only difference was their size, one was decidedly smaller than the other. Mrs. Potters blue eyes lit up as she tried to decide which one she should open first.

"The biggest one Mum, open the biggest one first." James said eagerly, as he moved forward in his seat and pushed some roses aside so he had a better view, suddenly interested.

"Honestly James," Nellie exclaimed at his childlike behavior. He frowned and stared oddly at her, until he turned his attention back to his mum. She had proceeded to open the largest present first to please her son.

In the large present was a dark blue velvet box, lying inside of it was a silver necklace with an equally dark blue, tear shaped pendant hanging from it. The small present consisted of yet another velvet box; its color matched the first, with matching tear shaped earrings.

"Oh thank you darling, this is lovely." Mrs. Potter embraced her husband in a hug and kissed him on the lips, ignoring James' groans. He caressed her cheek, softly telling her he had to leave for the ministry.

"I'll see you tonight at the party. Bye kids." He ruffled both Nellie and James' hair as he left the dining room. Mrs. Potter had traded her shift at the hospital that day to another day so she could stay home and prepare for the grand party.

0o0

A few hours later Nellie woke up with a soar neck and a small headache. She had wandered outside to lean against her favorite tree in the garden, flipping through the pages of her new schoolbooks, after the rain had stopped. Evidently, she had fallen asleep. She rubbed her temples and desperately hoped that the muggy weather would not cause a thunderstorm.

She gathered her books and walked back into the house, where her mum was walking quickly back and forth from the dining room to the large living room preparing them for the party. Nellie was happy to see a content smile tug at the corner of her mum's mouth as she discussed food, flowers, candlesticks, colors and whatnot with Rosa.

"Oh good, Nell, you're back. Would you mind helping me in the kitchen for a bit?" Mrs. Potter asked.

Shaking her head, Nellie followed Mrs. Potter into the kitchen. She perched on a stool by the counter, waiting for her mother to explain what she needed her to do. Silently, she prayed it did not have anything to do with cooking or if it did, it was something simple.

"Would you mind going through these cookbooks, please?" She did not wait for Nellie to respond, she simply handed the books over continuing to speak rather frantically. "Rosa and I have decided to have three different desserts; we just simply can't seem to choose which three. She let out a breath and flopped down in a chair.

Nellie chuckled, "Relax Mum, you have plenty of time to choose and get them ready. I don't mind looking, but don't you and Dad have a dessert that is yours? Like the dessert at your wedding or something?"

It was Mrs. Potters turn to smile fondly and chuckle. "Oh, the dessert at our wedding was absolute rubbish. As you know we were nineteen when we got married, your dad had proposed to me at our graduation from Hogwarts. Anyway, we had Tapioca Pudding at our wedding. It was a very popular dessert back then. I hated it, but your dad's mother suggested it. I was too timid to say no." Mrs. Potter laughed, and continued down Memory Lane. "Gosh, I was so nervous the last days before the wedding. I failed a test in Muggle Remedies because of it; of course, I blamed Harrison. I thought I could not go through with it, but I did. And two years later I had a beautiful, little girl." She reached out and stroked Nellie's cheek. "And a year after that a beautiful, little boy."

James entered the kitchen. "Talking about me are you?" he grinned cheekily but his grin faded soon after, as he grabbed a stool next to Nellie's and threw a piece of parchment on the counter "Sirius can't come," he huffed.

"What a shame," Mrs. Potter said honestly. "Did he say why?"

James shook his head, and continued to mope as he flipped through the pages of the cookbooks. Nellie picked up the short letter with Sirius' large, firm handwriting on it. Skimming it, she read:

_**Hey, mate, **_

_**I'm really sorry, but I will not make it to your parent's party tonight. Tell them congratulations from me and give them the present I attached to the owl. I'll see you in a few days, so stay out of trouble until then. – Sirius**_

She had barely finished reading before James snatched the parchment out of her hands. "Hey, I don't read your mail!" he snapped at her.

She raised her hands in a surrendering way. "I'm sorry James. Sorry." She moved her right hand and patted his with it. "But don't worry, Peter and Remus will be here right?"

He sighed in annoyance. "No. Peter is out of town with his parents, and Remus is … ill." James brushed it off. He looked at the darkening sky; hours from now Remus would be feeling very ill, indeed.

"I'm sure you'll enjoy the party anyway, James." Mrs. Potter said, turning her back to the children to check on some of the food that had already been prepared.

Nellie leaned closer to James and whispered. "Don't worry; we'll sneak some alcohol in Aunt Sylvia's glass, that'll make it interesting." James finally snickered and smiled.

0o0

Fastening the yellow belt of her dress, Nellie peeked into her mirror one last time to make sure her long black locks were still holding their curl.

Mrs. Potter entered her room frantically, her hand over her heart as Nellie smiled softly at her own reflection. "Look at what you father sent me to wear. I can't possible wear something so…" she removed her hands from her chest and looked down, her eyes panicky. "You can see my breasts." Nellie bit down a chuckle. The long flowing blue dress fit her mother extraordinarily. Its high empire waist and little cap sleeves showing off her long elegant neck. Of course, Nellie understood why her mother was so hysterical about it. It also showed a hint of cleavage and Mrs. Potter was not the type to show even a little leg.

Nellie could not fight back a chuckle. "Mum. You look beautiful. It is supposed to be like that so you can wear your new jewelry with it. Now go get ready, or you'll be late to greet the guests." Nellie pushed her mum out the door, following behind her to make sure she made it back to her room safely before skipping down stair to find her father.

0o0

"Yes it was nice to see you too." Nellie said for the seventeenth time as she walked away from yet another Auror and the evening had only just begun.

She spotted James sitting alone on a couch and walked over to drop down next to him. "Hey kiddo, you having a good time?" she rested her head on his shoulder.

To her surprise, he smirked slightly and said, "Yes." She lifted her head from his shoulder and raised her eyebrow questioningly.

"I was the perfect gentleman and gave Aunt Sylvia a glass of 'pumpkin juice' when she came." He made air quotes with his fingers as he said pumpkin juice. Nellie gasped in shock, "James, you didn't! You know how she gets when she drinks and this party means a lot to Mum and Dad."

"It was your idea!" James argued.

"It was a joke James! Honestly, how old are you?" Nellie said in annoyance as she got up from the couch to say hello to Roxy and her parents who had finally arrived.

"Nell, oh, you look so pretty!" Roxy yelled, loud as always. She was wearing a brown wraparound dress that tied together at her right hip. The deep brown color of the dress matched the color of her eyes. Nellie reached her at last and pulled her into a hug. "You do, too."

Travis Westerly, Roxy's dad, greeted Nellie with a quick kiss on the cheek before he began to search for her parents. Fiona Westerly, Roxy's mum, kissed the air next to both her cheeks before grabbing her hands. "Nell dearest, I hear you're dating a gorgeous man from the Auror Training Program and that he's two years older." Nellie winced, fearing a lecture from her friend's mother until Fiona said, "Is marriage in the future for you two?"

Roxy eagerly answered the question since Nellie's surprised coughing fit prevented her from saying anything. "No Mum, there isn't. Just because you and Dad think a relationship is meant to end in marriage, does not mean everybody else thinks so."

Fiona put a hand on her daughter's arm. "Let's not get into this right now, dear. I'm going to go say hello to the Potters." When she left, Roxy shot Nellie an apologetic glance. Nellie was about to tell her it was no big deal when they heard Abigail calling them from the door. "Nell, Roxy!" they immediately scurried over to her.

She was wearing a white dress that reached a few inches below her knees, and had long sleeves that tightened around her wrists. Her long hair was hanging loose as always. The Potters had invited both Abbey and her grandpa, Edmund Leigh. He was currently supporting himself on Abbeys right arm, in immaculate black dress robes.

It was the first time Nellie and Roxy met him so after Roxy had said her hellos Nellie politely shook the old man's hand, discreetly studying him. His face was as wrinkled as Dumbledore's, and he was arching his back and in need of supporting himself. His white hair was pulled back in an honorable ponytail and then there were his eyes; Nellie had expected them to be faded and tired, not abnormally blue and alert. It was obvious those eyes had seen a lot. Nellie felt like they could look deep within her and couldn't prevent a little shudder from shooting through her when he let go of her hand.

"Could any of you show me where Grandpa can sit? He gets tired after Apparating." Abbey said.

"Yes, of course!" Nellie grabbed Edmunds other arm while Roxy led the way to the couch James had been sitting on earlier. While Roxy showed, Abbey where the food and the drinks were Nellie waved her parents over so they could meet Edmund Leigh. She idly wondered where James was as she joined her friends.

0o0

When about two hours of the party had passed, Nellie still had not seen James. Though, she had been introduced to a lot of people she'd never met before who had all called themselves 'friends of her parents' which caused her to wonder why she had never met them or heard of them.

She was currently chitchatting politely with a Molly Weasley when she saw a person outside near the pool. Having a feeling that that person was James; Nellie excused herself from the plump, red-haired woman and walked outside.

"How come you're out here?" Nellie asked as she dropped down on the lawn next to James, not caring if she got grass on her dress.

"Bored," he sulked, as he continued to fiddle with a stick and stare straight ahead.

"Come on, you're always bored at parties like these, but you don't usually hide out here." She nudged his shoulder. "What's wrong?"

He finally turned his head and looked her in the eyes. "You're growing up, aren't you?"

Nellie was completely taken back by his question. "What do you mean? I am of legal age, yeah. What does that have to do with anything?" she tried to keep her voice light.

"Nell, you know what I mean. This morning with the presents, before with Aunt Sylvia, it is as if you are … I do not know, changing or something. Remember when we were younger, before I went to bed you would read me that muggle book about the boy who didn't want to grow up? You said you didn't want to either … and then I didn't want to. But you're growing up now." James shook his head, confused.

Nellie smiled softly at him. "You remember that?" He nodded. "Oh James, I'm not changing that much am I? Even if I do change, a teeny tiny little whittle bit, you and I won't change. I'll still want to play Quidditch and go swimming and, well, everything that we do. Okay?"

She hooked an arm around his shoulders and he smiled brightly at her. "Sure thing, Sis."

"Now, come on, Aunt Sylvia's trying to teach Roxy's mum to Can-Can and there's no way I'm missing that!" James laughed and followed Nellie inside.

0o0

That night Nellie once again awoke to the sound of rain trickling down her window. She was not bothered until the unmistakable roar of thunder echoed through her room. She hated thunderstorms. Honestly, she was frightened to death of them.

When she was little, she would run into her parents' bedroom and sleep next to her mother, but as she got older, she settled for sleeping next to James. Or Roxy if she was at Hogwarts, though Roxy loved thunderstorms and always tried to make Nellie come outside with her.

Nellie's room lit up from the raging thunderstorm outside, she fearfully jumped out of her bed and made her way downstairs to James' bedroom. Before she could get there though, she met her Mum and Dad each of them busy with tying their robes around their bodies.

"Mum, Dad why are _you _up?" Nellie inquired, hiding from her fear in her father's strong, protecting arms.

"Someone's at the door," her mother explained. They all walked down carefully to avoid waking up James. Nellie made sure to stay close to her father and far away from any windows, until they were downstairs where she huddled up at the corner of the sofa as her parents opened the door. The sight that greeted her when they opened the door left her in shock; it was Sirius!

She saw him walk inside, dragging his Hogwarts trunk after him, completely soaked, his long black hair hanging in his eyes and touching his shoulders. Water was trickling down his face, mixing with blood from various cuts. As he pulled his leather jacket from his shoulders, she bit back an enraged scream at the cuts and bruises covering his hands and up his arms. The gashes on his face could have been caused by tripping, but there was no way a fall had caused that much damage.

Mrs. Potter pulled him into a warm hug. "Sirius, what happened?" she asked worriedly. He immediately began to cry against her shoulder and she abandoned her attempt of questioning, settling for holding him tightly and whispering consoling words.

Mr. Potter left the room to wake up Rosa and ask her to prepare a bedroom for Sirius while he levitated the boy's trunk upstairs.

Nellie sat still in the couch without knowing what to do. Finally, she could not take it anymore and softly asked her mum, "Should I go wake up James?"

Sirius pulled back from Mrs. Potter embrace. "No, please don't. I didn't mean to cause trouble or to disturb you, I just…" his voice trailed off as he found himself crying again.

"Shush, it's alright dear. I'll Floo to the hospital and get something for these cuts and bruises. Rosa and Mr. Potter will get your room ready and meanwhile you stay here and talk to Nell, okay?" Mrs. Potter gave Sirius one last hug before walking upstairs. Nellie heard her talking to Mr. Potter, concernedly.

The room fell silent and it was an awkward moment between Sirius and Nellie. She finally got herself together and patted on the empty space next to her on the couch; inviting Sirius to sit. He did, wincing slightly from pain.

Nellie leaned forward and hugged Sirius to her, not knowing what else to do. He put his arms around her, careful not to place them too low on her back, and idly noticed that her hair smelled like jasmine. His head was resting on his shoulders when she said, "Are you sure you don't want me to get James?"

"Yeah, can we just… stay like this for a little while?" Sirius pleaded while pulling Nellie a little closer, enjoying her warmth. She silently agreed by not moving.

Eventually, Nellie's curiosity got the best of her. "Sirius, why are you here? How did this happen?" She faintly traced a cut on his cheek with her finger.

He took a deep breath before speaking. "My parents did it. They um … Well; they had arranged a branding for me." He paused and observed the grey sky outside; taking a shuddering breath, "They wanted me to take The Dark Mark, to be a Death Eater." Silent tears were falling down his cheeks and Nellie wanted to wipe them away, but Sirius harshly moved the back of his hand across his face before continuing, angrily ridding his cheeks of tears. "I've always known they believed in the Dark Arts, but it hasn't been completely impossible for me to live with them. Now… I just knew this was not something I could do just to keep them pleased, to keep me out of harm. I had to say no." He pulled away from her embrace and leaned back in the couch. His grey eyes seemed to be pleading with her to understand, to realize that he did not have another choice.

"And then they hurt you?" Nellie questioned softly, trying to keep the shock and disbelief out of her voice. His parents did this to him. How could someone do this to his or her child? Sirius' only answer was a nod; he did not want to talk about that.

"I'm so sorry." Nellie did not know what else to say. She thought he did not want to talk about it anymore and made a move to get up, but his voice cut her off. "I sat in my room afterwards, and then it hit me. I sat in my 'home' and longed to be home. Here. This is home. I didn't know if I should say goodbye to Regulus or not, so I just … left. I should have said goodbye to him. " He buried his face in his hands, his grief so obvious, Nellie that she was silently cursing herself for not being able to think of one way to bring him a little comfort, to make him stop hurting.

He finally raised his head and looked at her, his grey eyes sparkling with such sorrow and pain. "Thanks for listening to me, Nell. I know it can't be something you wanted to do in the middle of the night." He leaned forward, intending to kiss her forehead, but she captured his lips with her own. She just wanted to make him stop hurting, to stop aching. Sirius wasn't exactly sure what she was doing, but he wasn't going to stop her, she felt so good, so loving. Nellie sucked gently on his bottom lip, tasting the salty mix of blood, tears, and him, trying her damnedest to fix him, to let him know that it was okay, that someone cared.

As they pulled apart, Sirius thoughts drifted to his _first _kiss, third year, during a game of Truth and Dare. It had been so very different from this one, despite the fact that it was the very same girl.

Nellie's eyes widened at the thought of what she had just done, her mind racing with so many thoughts she couldn't tell one from another, but standing out distinctly above the others that were swirling through her head, was James, sleeping peacefully, tucked away under his covers. She opened her mouth to apologize but Sirius beat her to it. "I'm sorry, Nell. I know you have a boyfriend." Sirius didn't even mention James; he didn't want to make it anymore awkward.

"Sirius, I should be apologizing" Nellie didn't have time to finish her sentence when they heard the stairs squeak and Mr. Potter came down to the living room. "Sirius, Marianne is home, come with me and let her take care of those cuts," he said.

Sirius nodded and whispered a soft goodnight to Nellie before walking upstairs leaving her to ponder about what she had done, alone in the dark.

**A/N: **Tada! I quite like this chapter, but even though the kissed this does not mean they will be together already, it will be a few chapters. In the next chapter, we meet Nellie's boyfriend, yay. Please review!

X X X LolaCherryColaGirl


	4. Witchy Boyfriend

-1**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter.

_Witchy Boyfriend_

There were many long silences and short, struggling conversations between Nellie and Sirius the days following their kiss. Nellie thought of it as awkward, mostly because whenever she and Sirius were in the same room it was as if he watched her with amused eyes. James was oblivious to it all, and focused solely on trying his best to make his friend feel better.

Whenever James brought up the topic of his family, Sirius would just lie, telling James everything was fine. He even gave him a cocky little grin on some occasions, exclaiming that is was wonderful to be blasted off the family tree. That he had been attempting to do it since Andromeda, his favorite cousin, had done it six years ago. He was becoming so tired of lying; he hated lying to James. He was so tired of pretending that he wasn't bothered by the fact that he hadn't said goodbye to Regulus, that he had just left him there with his parents. And he was so tired of acting like that kiss between Nellie and he was just slightly amusing, that it didn't make him want to take her in his arms every time he saw her.

He had not been lying, though; when he told Mr. and Mrs. Potter how grateful, he was for all they had done for him. It was because of them he did not want to speak his troubling thoughts aloud; he thought he should just be grateful he had a place to stay with people who cared for him.

_People I care for, _he thought as he noticed James and Nellie search the garden for him. He got on his feet and idly brushed his hands over his pants to remove any bits of grass that might have been clinging to him before waving at them and trying his best to smile happily.

"Hey, man, I've been looking all over for you," James said eagerly as he threw his arm around Sirius neck for a second.

"Aw, Prongs, not in front of Nell." Sirius playfully placed his hand over Nellie's eyes, blocking her view, and immediately felt his fingertips tingle pleasantly.

She gave him a small smile before stepping away from his touch, worriedly glancing at James through the corner of her eye. Luckily, he was too busy showing Sirius the Quidditch Supplies Catalogue that had just arrived, to notice anything odd.

He had just found the page with Beaters bats that he wanted to show Sirius, when they heard Mr. Potter yell that he was leaving for work. James hurriedly shoved the magazine into Sirius' hands before running to the house and yelling, "No, wait, Dad!"

Nellie bounced back and forth on her feet, not sure what to say or do. Sirius caught her eye so she smiled, but still stayed silent. She started to fiddle with one of the buttons on her red shirt when Sirius finally said something. "You look very nice today. Are you seeing Roxy or Abbey later or something?"

She fought down the pleased smile that threatened to break out across her lips as he complimented her and shook her head. "No, Daniel's picking me up later. It's the last time we can see each other since, you know; we're going back to Hogwarts in two days."

"Ah, right, the boyfriend." Sirius nodded, and they fell into silence again.

"What about you? You don't have a bird or five to visit?" Nellie playfully nudged his shoulder with hers. Sirius shook his head, and she frowned. "Really? The big ladies man of Hogwarts without a girl. I'm shocked!" Her ruby red lips morphed into a smile, but he did not smile back.

"Nah, I think I'm growing out of that phase." Sirius shrugged his shoulders, while staring at his black shoes, making sure not to look her in the eyes.

"Oh my, Sirius. Are you actually growing up?" Nellie tried to keep the conversation light, but Sirius' grey eyes were dark with sincerity and she was surprised when he nodded.

"I think so. With everything's that's going on, I think I just realized it's time to grow up. At least just a little. You know, make sure I can handle whatever consequences my actions might bring," he explained.

Nellie bit her lip and wondered what to say in response. She shoved her hands into the pockets of her blue jeans, turned so she could feel the sun on her back and study Sirius' saddened expression. "I'm sorry about all this stuff with your family, Sirius. It must be tough."

He was going to lie to her and say that it was 'all right', but somehow he couldn't so instead he settled for saying, "Thanks." He was afraid to say anything more, in case it led to them talking about the night he had come to the Potter's home.

"Nell! Daniel's waiting at the door!" James yelled from inside the house, and both Nellie and Sirius headed towards him, relieved to have an excuse to stop their awkward conversation.

Once they were inside Sirius only caught a brief glance of a tall man with brown hair that almost reached his shoulders, neatly dressed in a pair of long shorts and a green t-shirt. He looked away and followed James upstairs when Nellie stood on her toes and placed her arms around Daniel's neck. He really did not want to see her kiss someone who wasn't him.

0o0

Nellie stood on her toes, placing her arms around Daniels neck and felt a pair of strong arms lift her up and twirl her around once.

"Hey beautiful, have you missed me?" he asked, his green eyes shining brightly at her.

"Of course not." She quickly pecked his lips. "Now, please tell me we're Apparating to Hogsmeade. I have such a hankering for that vanilla ice cream they sale in the summer at Honeyduke's, with the gummy bears in it."

Daniel chuckled at her as he held the door open for her allowing her to step outside first. It also gave him a great view of her bum in her tight jeans. "Sorry to disappoint, but we're not going to Hogsmeade. However," he quickly added as he saw she was about to protest. "I did pick up some gummy bear ice cream for you." He wrapped his arms around her and before she knew what was happening they were standing in a small, cluttered room.

The tiny room was painted bright cyan blue, with two unmade beds shoved into opposite corners, and a desk stuck between them, though it was barely visible under the mountain of papers piled on top of it. Nellie smiled happily, as she found two bowls of her favorite ice cream sitting on the only available surface of the battered oak desk. A tiny wardrobe stood up against the far wall, the doors swung open and the clothing inside spilling out into the floor.

"Where are we?" Nellie asked curiously as Daniel handed her one of the yellow bowls of ice cream and a spoon.

"My dorm room. Well, Kingsley Shacklebolt's and mine. Great guy, but I wish I had my own room though," he informed her, smiling as she shoved a spoonful of ice cream into her mouth.

She considered the size of the room and nodded. "I can understand that, I'd go crazy in a room this small."

Daniel pulled out the only chair in the room from the desk while answering, "Yeah well, beats living at home and I'm not here that much, training takes up quite a lot of time." He sat down and gestured for her to sit on the bed, but she slowly licked the ice cream off her lips before walking over and sitting on his lap, her eyes shining with mischief.

"And I take up the rest; it's so selfish and cruel of me," she said teasingly before leaning her head forward and brushing her lips across his. "Whatever can I do to make up for it?" she breathed and Daniel placed his hands on her cheeks as he softly kissed her. Cautiously he stroked his tongue along hers. She loved that about him that he did not just have his way with her.

"This is definitely making me forgive you," he responded they parted. They rested their foreheads against each other, and he found himself lost in the light-blue color of her eyes. She knew she was going to miss him once she was back at Hogwarts. She wanted him to miss her too.

"Is it just me?" Nellie asked cheekily, sliding out of his lap. "Or is this chair awfully uncomfortable?" She placed her bowl of ice cream on the desk before lying across his bed. "It's much better over here; you should really come and join me." With a coquettish little smile, she patted the bed, chewing on her bottom lip, purposely.

Gulping, he stood, slowly striding over to her. Daniel carefully, positioned himself beside her, staring up at the ceiling. Nellie chuckled to herself; _he_ was nervous. She rose up onto her elbow, leaning over him and kissing him gently. Soon, they were kissing passionately again, and his hand was traveling beneath her shirt, tracing circular patterns on her tanned skin. Before long the red shirt Sirius had thought she looked so lovely in, was tossed carelessly unto the floor, quickly followed by Daniel's green t-shirt and eventually the rest of their clothes.

He pulled back a little and stared at her naked body for the first time. "I think I'm falling for you," he whispered.

"Shush" and a finger laid across her delicious mouth was her only response before she pulled him close to her again.

0o0

A few hours later Nellie woke up, suddenly feeling a chill down her spine. She clutched the white sheet tighter around her, and lifted her head slightly, opening her eyes, but quickly shutting them again as she tried to adjust to the bright light in the room. She buried her face in the pillow and noticed the faint intimate smell of sweat and Daniels unique, spicy scent. She could not prevent a pleased smile from forming on her lips.

"I see you're finally awake," Daniel said as he stepped into the dorm room, showered and dressed.

"Mhm." Nellie turned around so she was lying on her back and staring up at him. Still smiling, she asked, "You look handsome. Are we going somewhere?"

"I was thinking I might take you out for dinner." He gave her a lopsided grin and sat down on the edge of the bed near her feet, awkwardly searching for words. "Listen..." while Nellie waited for him to continue she placed her feet in his lap and smiled coyly at him as she wriggled her toes happily. "If this was too soon for you, I'm sorry," Daniel finished, avoiding her eyes, his own green ones fixated on his large hands.

"You have absolutely nothing to apologize for," Nellie said, climbing across the bed and wrapping her long legs around his waist. As she felt the fabric of his shirt against her chest, she whispered, "nothing at all," kissing his neck.

"I'm glad, because, Nellie, I _really _like you," his honest voice told her and he shyly watched his fingers play with her dark hair. "I want us to be right, you know." He was mumbling now, feeling his cheeks flush red.

"Yeah… I know," Nellie murmured, trying not to sound uncertain. She slowly unwrapped her legs from around him, sliding out of his lap and to her feet. Pressing a small kiss to his temple, she hurriedly dressed and grabbed her wand out of her bag to straighten her hair.

"Ready to go?" Daniel smiled at her as she finished. She nodded to answer him, soon after Apparating for the second time that day.

0o0

Nellie raised her second glass of champagne and idly brushed it against Daniels before taking a sip and loudly demanding, "Tell me you'll miss me when I'm at Hogwarts."

He chuckled and grazed his thumb over the palm of her hand, his soft skin warm against hers. "Of course, I'll miss you. I do have a little surprise for you, however." Her eyes shined with joy as she waited for him to tell her what the surprise was. "I talked to Dumbledore." He slowly continued and she raised her eyebrows questioningly, "About you. And me. And Hogsmeade." She felt a smile tug at the corner of her mouth, but she swatted his leg with her foot beneath the elegantly set table to get him to hurry up. "He said that you, since you're of legal age, will have the privilege of staying out all night from Saturday to Sunday, as long as it doesn't affect your duties at school or your studies." Daniel broke into a wide grin and Nellie squealed before leaning over the table and kissing him.

"He actually said that? Dumbledore is way cooler than I thought," Nellie mused aloud.

"Yeah he is… Plus, he got five of my rare Wizards Cards. I went through many, many boxes of chocolate frogs for those cards, but I suppose you are worth it." He grinned and swallowed the rest of the champagne in his glass before grabbing the bottle and filling it up again.

"Aw, you're too sweet. I really don't deserve you." Nellie grinned back at him before raising her glass so they could toast again.

"I had to make sure you'd be with me." Daniel moved his hand to give hers a squeeze, but had to pull it back as a waiter came to the table to clear their appetizer plates and serve the main meal.

The rest of the dinner was spent chatting pleasantly about all things ranging from Quidditch, to Nellie being Head Girl, books and everything else they could think of. Nellie laughed and smiled her way through dinner, but as they arrived in front of the Potter Mansion and were about to say goodbye, sadness washed over her.

"I'll see you soon, and I'll write you a lot," Daniel promised, taking both her hands in his.

"I'll send you a Christmas-card," Nellie joked, swinging their hands back and forth, smiling slightly as Daniel leaned over and kissed her softly. Her hand was traveling to his neck when a familiar voice caused them to jump apart in shock. "Well, well, well, look who we have here." James' eyes shined with mischief and amusement as he took in their startled appearances. "I think you need to get inside Nell. We don't want you a catching a cold now, do we?"

"James, you prat, go inside and I'll deal with you in a second." Nellie glared at him until she saw the door to the house close. She turned to Daniel. "I'm sorry about that, he gets weird when he hasn't had enough attention."

Daniel chuckled, "That's all right. Besides, I know someone else who's not too happy when she doesn't get enough attention." He kissed her again, just a soft brush of his lips against hers and then he let go of her hand. "Goodbye Nellie," he whispered, and then he was gone.

Nellie found James waiting for her as soon as she stepped into the house. "What the hell was that about James?"

He shrugged. "I don't like that guy, he's way too old for you, and besides I'm bored."

"He's not too old for me, mind your own business, and go annoy Sirius if you're so bored." She pushed past him and had one foot on the stairs leading up to her room in the attic as his voice cut her off. "Roxy is with Sirius, they're talking. I thought it would be rude of me to interrupt them. Don't you agree, dear Sis?" James had walked up to her and placed his arm around her shoulders.

"Roxy is here?" she asked surprised, and James nodded. "And she's with Sirius?" He nodded again. Nellie did not know what to think. She knew they were close, and yet she still felt like Roxy was betraying her by coming to _her _house and talking to Sirius.

"Is something wrong?" James inquired with a confused frown as he saw his sister's almost angry expression. She shook her head. "No, everything's cool, I'm going upstairs." She distantly patted his arm before leaving.

Nellie only made it to the first floor before she bumped into Roxy who smiled upon seeing her "Nell, hey. How was your date with the fossil?" Roxy linked her arm through Nell's and they both walked up to her room.

"Don't call him that." Nellie huffed, she felt childish for doing so, but she could not help it. "And it was great," she added, smiling, hoping Roxy had not noticed the cranky answer.

"Good," Roxy stated before speed talking her way through an explanation of what she was doing there. "I am just here because no one told me about everything that has happened with Sirius until today and I wanted to see him and see if he is okay, you know. He seemed okay at first when I came, but then after a while it was obvious to me that he wasn't, so I simply had to kick James out of the room, he's not angry about that right? If he is, I'll apologize. Anyway, can I borrow a record from you?" Roxy smiled at her. She numbly nodded and watched Roxy search through her stacks of records.

Roxy pulled one out, careful not to make the rest tilt, and got on her feet. "Thanks darling, are you going to bed now or should I come up and say goodbye before I leave?"

"No, I think I'm going to go to bed now. I'll see you Monday on the train, okay?" Nellie hugged her friend goodbye. A few moments later, she went to bed, her mind wavering from one emotion to the next, preventing her from fading into sleep.

0o0

When Roxy came back into his room, Sirius was laying spread out on his bed, staring at the ceiling. He sat up as he heard her enter, exclaiming, "Finally!"

"Aw, did you miss me?" Roxy faked a high-pitched voice before trying to locate the record player.

"Not really." Sirius ducked to avoid the quill Roxy threw at him and then continued, "So what kept you? I thought I heard voices."

"Oh no, are you hearing voices, _again_?" Roxy said before actually answering his question. "I talked to Nell; she is back from her date with the fossil."

Sirius chuckled. "Why do you call him that? Do you not like him?" He secretly hoped her answer to that was yes, but to his dismay, Roxy just shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't know that much about him actually, it's just the whole steady relationship thing they got going, I guess. Do you remember him from Hogwarts?"

"Let's see, he didn't play Quidditch and he isn't a hot blonde, so no I don't." Sirius made sure to let his charming smile follow his statement so Roxy would spare him of one of her feminism speeches.

She could not hold back a chuckle. "You are one charming guy, Sirius." He grinned widely.

"Aha! Finally, I found it!" Roxy loudly exclaimed as she lifted a shirt and found the record player beneath it. "I borrowed 'London Calling' by The Clash; I think it suits our moods today. Though, I was close to going with something more classic like Elton John," Roxy told him as she put the record on and softly bobbed her head to the sound of 'Guns of Brixton.'

Sirius laughed at her. "You're obsessed Roxy. What do you have against steady relationships, anyway?" he asked, trying to lead their conversation back to the original topic.

"Well, I always tell the girls: Never take it seriously. If you never take it seriously you always have fun and if you always have fun you never get hurt, and if you ever get lonely you just go to the record store and visit your friends." She held up the record cover and smiled brightly, her brown eyes shining.

"You're such a romantic." Sirius winked and moved over on the bed as she dropped down next to him.

"Maybe not, but I'm happy," she said. Sirius sighed and stayed silent. She was indeed happy. He wanted to be happy too. For a while, they just lied close enjoying the music, trying to think about nothing else.

"I have to go now," Roxy said sleepily as she sat up after the record stopped. She pulled Sirius into a hug and kissed his forehead. "Promise me, you'll tell James if you're upset. And try to be a good boy until I see you Monday, okay?" He nodded simply.

As she was almost out the door, she heard him whisper, "Thanks, Roxy."

0o0

Sirius was just about to turn off his light when he heard his door open again and found James walking in. "Hey, Prongs," he greeted him, chirpily.

"Hi, Padfoot." James ran a hand through his black hair. "So … I guess you're not as fine as you've pretended to be, huh?" He did not look angry, just disappointed.

Sirius felt guilty for shutting him out. He had not meant to. "Not really. I'm sorry, I didn't tell you man, I just didn't want to sound ungrateful. You and your parents have done enough for me already."

"You wouldn't have sounded ungrateful. And it's no problem, you're like family." James patted his back.

They both sat awkwardly silent for a while until James said, "Want to plan our first prank on Snivellus for this year?" Sirius grinned and felt happier than he had in a long time.

0o0

**A/N: **And that was the fourth chapter. Sorry I am so slow, but I broke a finger. Well my step dad said it was a small fraction or something like that, but it still hurt. I borrowed a quote from Almost Famous for this chapter, brownie points to anybody who recognizes it. And of course, brownie points to all who reviews! And a huge thanks to my awesome beta totallymindless!

X X X LolaCherryColaGirl


	5. Witchy Return

-1**He Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter.

_Witchy Return_

Nellie watched her red, high-heeled shoes slide down from the seat opposite of hers as a panting Roxy _finally _entered the train-compartment only a few seconds _after _the Hogwarts Express slowly had begun leaving Kings Cross.

"I. Made. It!" Roxy exclaimed loudly between desperate gasps for air.

Abbey peaked over the sketchbook that was resting on her skirt clad, drawn-up knees and her smile reflected in her blue eyes as she saw Roxy. The redhead was like a big sister to her; she both protected and provoked her.

Nellie chuckled. "That's great Rox, but where's your trunk?"

Just as her palm hit her forehead, Roxy yelled, "Shit!" before quickly running out of the compartment screaming, "I left it by the door!"

Brushing a lock of black hair from her eyes Nellie spoke her thoughts aloud, "I think the Hogwarts Express is the only thing she's actually ever been on time for."

Abbey momentarily placed her pencil on the seat next to her, but kept her sketches in her lap. "And the boats first year," she added.

"Nope," Roxy said, her tone oddly proud, as she re-entered the compartment this time dragging her trunk after her. Tears were streaming down Nellie's cheeks as she roared with laughter, preventing her from commenting. Roxy stuck her tongue out at her before hurriedly stowing away her trunk and sitting down next to Abbey.

"Remember that totally drenched girl that got the Sorting Hat, complaining about getting soaked?" Abbey nodded thoughtfully and Roxy continued, "Yeah that was me." Realization dawned upon Abbey and, she too, started laughing.

Roxy always enjoyed a good tale and she began explaining, "I was a teeny bit late for those stupid boats, but I thought if I jumped I'd still make the last boat…" she paused for effect "Obviously, I was wrong." Nellie, who had calmed herself by then, couldn't hold back a snort of laughter and Roxy continued, "Nell was actually the one that pulled me up in the boats; she heard my screams when the Giant Squid came with all its damn poking arms." Roxy bent her arms and let them stick oddly out from her body while stretching her fingers all she could and making weird faces in an attempt to mimic the Giant Squid.

"Yeah, I liked you from the beginning," Nellie confessed with a smile. Roxy batted her eyelashes in reply.

Abbey remained quiet through out the rest of the conversation and Nellie was afraid they'd hurt her by talking about their friendship before Abbey had become a part of it.

She tried to get a good look at her face, but her head was bent forward over her sketches and as always, her long hair was hiding her face like a curtain protecting her from the world. Roxy boldly reached out and placed a big lock of Abbeys hair behind her ear. "_And,_ remember last year? Potions project! What could possibly be worse?" She dramatically began. "But then, tadaa, enter Abigail Sophie Leigh: Potion-genius and so weird and wonderful we couldn't leave you alone." As Roxy finished Nellie gently poked Abbey with the tip of her shoe causing the quiet girl to smile back at her.

"It's strange it's our last year," Abbey said, finally she raised her head and letting all of her hair fall away from her face.

"Yeah," Roxy agreed and Nellie nodded. A silence fell upon the compartment as each girl stared out the window at the English countryside, none of them actually seeing it as their thoughts were already at the castle for which they were headed.

Roxy couldn't stand the quiet, so she shook her head and grabbed the many sketches lying in Abbey's lap. "What is this you're hiding, anyway?"

Despite her loud objections and many violent attempts to get her sketches back, Abbey eventually gave up and settled for leaning back while Roxy flipped through the stack her mouth hanging open. "It's … me."

Abbey blushed and hugged her book and the few sketches she had left close to her chest, while nervously biting her lower lip. "These are so great Abbey, why haven't you shown them to us before?" Roxy asked as she passed the sketches on to Nellie when she'd gotten a good look.

Nellie had to gasp as she saw them; Abbey had gotten everything about Roxy right, the happy eyes and teasing smile, everything. "You could live off this." Nellie commented and Roxy agreed with a vigorous nod.

"I think I prefer working at Gringotts," Abbey said with a small smile, and Roxy groaned.

"Come on, you can't let talent like this go to waste. Besides Gringotts is boring and you'll be working with all the evil goblins!" Roxy wrinkled her nose, displeased by the thought.

"I'm not letting anything go to waste," Abbey protested as she hesitantly passed the remaining sketches to both Roxy and Nellie. They were of Nellie, and though they were great, they lacked the personal details that made the drawings of Roxy so awesome. "I can't get you right, no matter how hard I've tried. I don't know why," Abbey told Nellie.

"Well then, what choice, but Gringotts do you have? I mean, you can't draw Nell!" Roxy gasped sarcastically as she threw her arms out in a large gesture and Nellie chuckled, but it quickly diminished.

"Hey guys, I have a Head meeting in half an hour, but …" Nellie's voice trailed off as she changed the subject and Roxy cut in.

"But you're worried you'll crash and burn?" She was grinning. Nellie stuck her tongue out before with a low voice admitting that that was exactly what worried her.

"I mean, why would they even choose me to be Head Girl?" she pondered aloud.

"Because you do well in school and they think you'll be responsible enough for the job," Abbey said and Nellie shot her a grateful smile.

"Plus you're not totally hated, so they don't have to worry that the student population will demand the Head Girl to be beheaded!" Roxy added and Nellie rolled her eyes.

"They've never beheaded a Head Girl."

Roxy leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes, smiling. "Nah … at least not that we know of." Nellie tried and failed to kick Roxy before she turned her attention back to the painful, twisting feeling in her stomach.

0o0o0

Three quick, light knocks sounded on the compartment door before Nellie caught a flash of red hair and searching, emerald green eyes and she recognized the girl as Lily Evans, a sixth year and the love of James' life. Nellie didn't have time to say anything, though before Roxy had flung her arms around Lily's neck, happily exclaiming, "Lily! It's so good to see you again! How was your summer?"

Behind her back, Nellie grinned at Abbey; Roxy always got emotional the first day back.

Lily awkwardly patted Roxy on the shoulder as she politely tried to push her away. "It was fine and yours Roxanne?"

"Good, good." Roxy nodded as she sat down again and Lily turned to Nell, she'd already changed into her school robes and her Prefect badge was shining brightly as if it'd just been polished.

"Hello, Nellie."

"Hey Lily, so you had a good summer?" Nellie didn't really know Lily Evans, but she knew as did everyone of her brother's huge crush on the girl. She'd had to make sure she would treat him well. So far she didn't, but Nellie still liked her; sometimes James' ego was just too big.

"Oh yes, I was in France. Bordeaux, for three weeks. And yours was fine, too?" Lily chitchatted.

Nellie noticed she looked eager to say something so she simply answered, "Yes, was there something you wanted?"

"Yes actually, Professor McGonagall asked me to come get you; it's time for the Head meeting." When she'd delivered her message, Lily rushed out. Nellie idly wondered what that was about until the twisting, painful feeling returned, all she could do was nod as Abbey wished her good luck and Roxy gave her the thumbs up.

Nellie hardly noticed Lily standing close to Severus Snape, chatting with him and their eyes following her as she walked past them. She wondered if the 'Levicorpus' she'd put on Snape might have something to do with Lily's odd behavior.

She was busy taking deep calming breaths as she bumped into someone. Glancing upwards she opened her mouth, ready to apologize. Her apology was lost in her throat as she caught sight of a pair of familiar grey eyes gazing back at her.

Sirius was hiding behind a mask of cheerfulness as he looked down at Nellie. The look of desire he knew had flashed through his fathomless eyes was hidden before Nellie had the chance to notice it. Instead of taking her in his arms as he wanted to he let out a low chuckle at her flustered appearance. She stood still, frantically staring up at him like a frightened animal, her mouth hanging open.

"Hey." He grinned. "Where are you going?"

"Oh, um…" With his body closer to hers than it had been since their kiss Nellie momentarily forgot where she was going, but finally choked out, "Head meeting. Now, actually. I have to go." She pushed past Sirius and rushed forward to the end of the train.

"About time, Miss Potter, the Head Boy has already arrived and soon we will be gathering the Prefects for a meeting," McGonagall said as she held open the door leading into the Head Compartment, waiting for Nellie to go inside first.

She did, her curiosity piqued as to who had made Head Boy, causing her to quickly scan the room. Her jaw dropped and she exclaimed, "_You're _Head Boy?!" as she learned the answer.

0o0

Sirius was pretending and he was good at it. As he made his way through the crowded halls of the Hogwarts Express his handsome face seemed light and cheerful as always. He loudly greeted fellow Gryffindors or Quidditch players, winked at a few pretty girls and demanded instant attention. With his good looks and slight arrogance he blatantly annoyed people and yet still made them long to be part of the few his unusual piercing, grey eyes shined upon.

Not one person would've noticed how hard Sirius was fighting not to let his hands shake as he tried to find Regulus in the chaos of students. This would be the first time he spoke to his little brother after the night Sirius had fled his own home and left his family behind to stay with the Potters. It made him nervous. The guilt over his actions painfully tore him apart; along with the knowledge that the small hope that he could be forgiven was stupid.

Finally, Sirius passed a compartment from which loud voices and roars of laughter slipped out. He caught sight of Regulus sitting in the far corner, silently leaning against the window, clearly not participating in whatever conversation his friends were having.

Sirius knocked swiftly on the glass door before pulling it open and entering the compartment making sure to keep his eyes on Regulus and pointedly ignoring the other Slytherins surrounding him.

The obvious anger and what, at the moment, seemed like blatant hatred that showed in Regulus' eyes intensified Sirius' agony as he felt the tiny hope for forgiveness he'd had shatter forever. Amazingly, he still managed to say, "Regulus, might I have a word in private?" hating that he felt the need to be formal to his own brother.

After ignoring Sirius for a brief moment Regulus rose from his seat and still silent pushed his way past him, wincing as his arm made contact with Sirius' shoulder.

Sirius shot a dirty look to the Slytherins that were obviously whispering about him before hurrying after Regulus, who was waiting outside the compartment, impatiently running a hand through the messy, black hair that kept on falling into his eyes.

"Hey Reg." Sirius tried to lighten the mood with a memory of his childhood nickname, but all he got in return for his efforts was a cold glare and Sirius' shoulders drooped.

"How have you been?" Sirius had been wondering about this ever since he left, fully knowing there would be no one but Regulus and an old house elf Kreacher to face the wrath of his parents. He registered with relief that there weren't any bruises on Regulus' face or what was visible of his hands.

"Don't pretend you even care," Regulus spat in reply, raising his chin defiantly and clenching his fists in anger.

Sirius straightened up again, almost half a head higher than Regulus. He gazed down at him and said, "I _do _care," with a harder edge to his voice than he intended.

"That's bullshit!" shouted Regulus and all Sirius found himself wondering when his brother started using Muggle terms. "If you cared you wouldn't have done what you did! Everything is _your _goddamn fault!" Regulus took a step forward towards Sirius who placed his hands on each of Regulus' shoulders instead of cowering away as many others would've done.

"I know it seems that way, but it isn't. Mum and Dad—" It felt weird for Sirius to call them that when they hardly seemed like parents to him anymore. "—are those who are wrong. But you don't have to be like them!" Sirius finished.

"I'm not! I'm even worse." Regulus tried to tear himself out of Sirius' grasp, but he slid his hands down a little and squeezed Regulus' arms a bit to keep him in place. To his surprise Regulus shouted, "Let go!" and desperately fought to pull his left arm away as quickly as possible.

Sirius had tried to avoid dark magic and ignore whatever talk there was about Lord Voldemort and the wizards who were his followers. However, living in his parents' house he had of course picked up some things and with a hurried movement, he pushed up the sleeve of Regulus' shirt only to reveal what he'd feared.

Regulus' left forearm had been branded with a skull with a snake coming out of its mouth. Evidence that he was now a Death Eater. Property of Lord Voldemort.

"Why?" Sirius finally managed to croak out as he caught Regulus' eyes and forced him to keep eye contact.

"Because," Regulus hissed as he angrily pulled down his sleeve again in fear of prying eyes. "As you may remember Mum and Dad had a branding planned for you. Even though you ran away the Dark Lord still expected a Black. I was the only one left. At least Mum and Dad can be proud of me."

Sirius was speechless. He hadn't had a clue that he would be leaving his brother to face the fate that he was fleeing. Everything really was his fault. He couldn't find one consoling word to say. He knew no apology would ever make him worthy of forgiveness.

When Regulus had been sorted into Slytherin instead of Gryffindor as Sirius had been he'd thought that they would be divided forever by their differences, but now he realized he'd been wrong. They hadn't truly been divided until Sirius had cut off his family and even if he hadn't wanted to Regulus.

"I hate you," Regulus finished of the conversation before joining his friends again. As he returned to dwelling against the window as he wondered what his future would be like.

"Hey mate, are you alright?" Sirius felt a hand clap his shoulder and turned around to see James standing behind him, smiling broadly as he passed Sirius a pumpkin pastry. Sirius opened his mouth to tell James what had just happened, but he felt his heart grow slowly cold and instead he forced a smile and said, "Yeah, everything's great." Sirius was pretending. And he was good at it.

0o0

Sirius asked for a moment alone and gone off to some place unknown, Remus chatted with some other prefects as the train rolled in on Hogsmeade Station. Peter ran off to save a carriage and James found himself alone, with nothing to do but trying to spot Lily's red hair in the mass of people.

He finally found her next in line to a carriage and tried to run over to her, even though he knew reaching her was impossible. James settled for watching her from a distance and he couldn't help but admire her beauty as Lily leaned her head back and laughed at something. Gods, he loved her.

There was only one other girl in James Potter's life that he loved more than Lily Evans and he then noticed she was standing not too far away from him.

"Hey Sis." Nellie heard James chipper voice behind her as she attempted to make her way through the large crowd of students that took up the humble space of Hogsmeade Station.

"Hey kid," she replied as she abruptly stopped a bit away from the carriages that were to transport them all back to Hogwarts. Her gaze fell on Abbey standing close to the carriages, seemingly running her open palm over nothing but air.

"Err … What is she doing?" James inquired. He didn't know Abbey well, but though she was always very quiet he'd never thought she was odd.

"Petting the Thestrals," Nellie answered, tilting her head to the side as she continued watching Abbey as she bent her head forward allowing her hair to cover her face.

"But … why?" James frowned, most students didn't even know they were there, let alone show them any kindness.

"She can see them." Nellie turned to James with a sad smile on her face.

"But can't you only see them when you've seen someone …?" James' voice trailed off as the word 'die' floated unspoken between the siblings. Nellie nodded.

James opened his mouth to ask, "Who?" but realized the impropriety of the question and remained quiet as Nellie ruffled his hair. James watched as she walked over to Abbey and put an arm around her shoulders. Abbey quickly shrugged it off before they both entered the carriage. James sighed and shook his head before setting out to find the carriage Peter had promised to save for the Marauders.

0o0

Nellie barely managed to jump out of her carriage when two strong arms slid around her waist and someone whispered, "Congratulations on making Head Girl, Miss Potter," in hear ear.

She immediately turned around and into a pair of smiling bright blue eyes, shaggy dark blond hair almost obscuring them from sight. "Frank!" Nellie cried and threw her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly.

Frank Longbottom was a 7th year Gryffindor as well and in some ways he was as close and dear to Nellie as Roxy. She had been friends with him for just as long. There had been long periods though when they had seen less and less to each other as Frank's girlfriends tended to be jealous about his closeness with Nellie. Luckily, he was now dating Alice Young, a 7th year Ravenclaw, who had accepted their friendship.

"Oh, so you _do _remember me! I was beginning to wonder," teased Frank. "After all, you have that new boyfriend of yours now. Roxy tells me he's old?"

Nellie rolled her eyes in reply. "He is not old. And don't get too cocky, I bet you saw Alice everyday this summer." Nellie linked her arm through Frank's and they entered the Great Hall together, chitchatting away in a carefree manner that would soon be missing from the wizarding world.

After Dumbledore had given his speech and when the feast was coming to and Roxy placed her head on Nellie's shoulder and said, "It's good to be back, isn't it?" with a tired smile.

Nellie looked around at all the well-known faces around her, all of them smiling and laughing, softly lit by the many floating candles and she smiled too. "Yeah, it is." She felt safe within the great walls of Hogwarts, almost as if she was home.

0o0

Nellie descended from the stairs leading up to her private bedroom in the Head Dorm after taking a tour of the place. Pale eyes met hers as she reached on the last step left and the blond boy in front of her bowed his head no more than a fraction of an inch and sternly said, "Nellie Potter."

She bowed her head with just as much disrespect as he had done and copied his tone as she replied, "Lucius Malfoy."

**A/N: **Dun dun dun! I know this isn't canon, but when I started a story I didn't know and now this plays into my plot so I'm going a bit more AU. Hope you all still liked the chapter though and that I have any readers left after my long absence. It would seem like my writers block is over now though, luckily! We should all give large thanks to my awesome beta totallymindless, without her, this story would be pretty crappy! Please review, I live for it!

**X X X LolaCherryColaGirl**


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